Chapter Ten:

Mitsukuni was sitting at his usual table in Good Luck Cupcakes when Akira came out of the back with a plate full of new recipes. Under the plate, she held a stack of her books for school. As a date, the two had decided to have a study date while they tried some of Kimi's pastry recipes as possible additions to the menu. Mitsukuni had his laptop out with a sheet of code displayed, ready to be worked on.

While there wasn't a lot that one could do on a study date, Akira had suggested it as a means of being able to spend time together while simultaneously working on all of the work that they got from their classes. It was a simple plan with very little flaws and they both seemed to think that there was some merit to its design. They got eat good food while they studied, and they could break the silence with simple conversation.

Kimi came out and sat at a stool by the cash register. "I want honest commentary."

"Ne, Kimi-san," Mitsukuni began happily as he pulled a slice of coffee cake towards him.. "My friend's mother wants a sugar sculpture for their New Years party. I gave her your name. I hope that's all right."

Kimi looked up at the ceiling. "I haven't made a sugar sculpture for quite some time, but I could try my best." She shrugged as she grabbed her laptop from under the counter and opened it up so that she could work on the books. "I'll see if I get a phone call." She looked down and started typing.

Akira grabbed a waffle cookie and bit into it and bounced slightly as it nearly melted in her mouth. She pulled her psychology textbook from the pile and opened it up. Once she had a notebook open in front of her, she started writing quickly. She took her notes in purple pen for psychology. She found that the colors added a little bit of flair to her note taking, and she never had a use to put subject names on the front. Each subject had it's own color. She had been taking notes like this since she was in middle school after she found that the bland black and white made her vision blur easily. The pop of the colored text allowed her eyes to find the contrast and provided with a decent amount of amusement on top of it.

Mitsukuni let out a happy moan as he gobbled down his slice of coffee cake. "This is so good!" he said. "Ne, Kimi-san. Do you have people come in in the morning?"

Kimi looked up and shook her head. They didn't even open until late morning. She had actually added the breakfast treats with the idea that if she could get a breakfast menu down, she could attract more customers. "I've been thinking about serving breakfast here in the morning though. Not full breakfast, just coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and breakfast pastries like coffee cake and croissants.

Akira looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure about that?"

"You don't have to get up early to help me Akira. You should focus on your studies. Plus, your expertise lies in cupcakes," Kimi laughed. "I also think it would be a good idea to advertise cupcake catering. Cupcakes are becoming big substitutes for parties in place of full cakes."

Akira nodded and thought about it. They had managed just fine with only three people working. Kimi and Akira would bake and then there was Isuzu who would work in the afternoons when they were much busier. "We would have to hire someone to cover the counter in the morning while you make the cupcakes."

"I'll see if we have the business to support it," Kimi said with a smile before turning back to her laptop.

Mitsukuni looked at Akira and then to Kimi and smiled. He of course had heard many of his fellow students talking about family enterprises expanding, but it was usually on a much grander scale than just adding a breakfast service to a small cupcake shop. Still, Mitsukuni found the entire conversation interesting. Akira and Kimi dealt in speculation and propositions. They didn't have a set plan, but the idea was there and they both seemed to consider it. Mitsukuni, knowing that Kimi was quite the successful small business owner, was almost certain that there would be changes coming to Good Luck Cupcakes. Already the shop had a small cafe atmosphere, and with the addition of breakfast service there was the prospect of added revenue. If they did catering, there would be even more revenue, but with added services there would be added costs. More ingredients, more time in the shop using utilities. One always had to consider the costs and benefits of adding more to the business. Would Kimi and Akira end up hurting themselves too much by trying to provide more service? It was a business tightrope walk. You couldn't expand too fast, and you have to find the best option for offering the perfect amount of goods and services.

Mitsukuni looked at Kimi again and saw that she was twisting her hair with a finger, mulling over the idea of adding more. She was smiling too. Like the idea was just there, right in front of her, ready for her to tweak and adjust so that she got the best possible outcome.

Mitsukuni grabbed another piece of coffee cake. "Akira-chan, do you want to go on a date tomorrow?" he asked.

Akira looked up, blinked a couple times and nodded with a smile. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"We're going to investigate other cafes!" Mitsukuni said. He bounced a bit. "We can see what they offer in services and then we can bring the information back to Kimi-san for her to consider!"

"Kind of like re-con," Kimi hummed as she tapped her chin. "That's a good idea, Haninozuka-san. Akira, when you go keep good mental notes, you don't want them to see you taking notes. They might get suspicious."

Akira's eyes widened in terror. "Suspicious?"

"We don't want people to know that you're thinking of expanding the services you offer," Mitsukuni explained. He grabbed Akira's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, it'll be fun. We're just going to eat food and ask if they cater. Okay?"

Akira looked at her hand and nodded slowly. It did sound like a lot of fun and she would get to spend the day with Mitsukuni. After a couple minutes she giggled. "We're going to be spys for the day!"

"Cafe spies!"Mitsukuni cheered.

0o0o0o0

The next day, Mitsukuni met Akira outside of her apartment complex, but he wasn't alone. He stood next to Tamaki and Haruhi. Tamaki was bouncing in excitement while Haruhi was smiling nervously.

Akira skipped out in a skirt and a loose t-shirt. She had slipped on knitted sweater that she had gotten as a gift from Rae. She paused when she saw Tamaki and Haruhi before she smiled at Mitsukuni. "Friends?" she asked.

"Tama-chan and Haru-chan want to help," Mitsukuni said with a giggle. "Akira-chan, meet my friends, Tama-chan and Haru-chan."

"Tamaki Suoh," Tamaki said with a flick of his wrist as he bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet the woman who has captured Honey-senpai's heart."

Akira bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. While she wasn't the most mature of adults, she still felt that the exaggerated, regal bow was just a bit too much for her to handle. Then again, maybe this was because she simply wasn't used to being introduced to someone who radiated a princely air. She bowed with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka," Haruhi said, sans bow. She smiled. "Honey-senpai speaks very highly of you and your cupcakes."

"Akira Higurashi," Akira said with a bow. "Mitsukuni speaks very highly of you and the other host club members." She adjusted her shoulder bag and turned to Mitsukuni. "You didn't bring Usa-chan."

Mitsukuni pouted as he crossed his arms. "Takashi wouldn't let me and he's out with Rae-chan somewhere," he muttered.

"We'll just have to tell Usa-chan all about it when we finish."

"You are just so cute!" Tamaki exclaimed jumping up and down as if he couldn't contain himself, and in all likelihood, he really couldn't. While he reserved himself around Mitsukuni because there was an underlying fear that the older student could hurt him, Akira was just a five-foot tall college student who liked cute clothes.

Akira laughed nervously as she started picking at her nails. "Thank you?" she asked as she scratched the back of her head. "Shall we go?" she asked after a minute.

"YEAH!" Mitsukuni yelled grabbing Akira's hand. "I know where we can go first. Come on!"

Tamaki grabbed Haruhi's hand and started following the older couple. "Haruhi, they make a cute couple, don't they?" he whispered.

Haruhi nodded as they walked down the road. She had come at Mitsukuni's request when he came to the sudden realization that his friends had yet to meet Akira even though the two had been together for a few months. One thing was for sure, while they might not be in love yet, the two of them were falling down that rabbit hole together and they didn't seem to mind at all. She smiled when Mitsukuni kissed Akira on the cheek as they rounded a corner. He pointed to a cartoonish sign that advertised a cafe.

"All right, remember not to write anything down," Mitsukuni said seriously. "This is to help Akira-chan and Kimi-san."